You can use your phone to discover the history of the streets around you, revealing photos (and the stories behind them) and overlaying them onto the live camera view. Fade in and out to compare today with how the world used to look.You can also explore all the photos on the Historypin site through the map interface and see themed Collections of the best content from around the world, transporting you to Germany in the 1890s or Boston in 1970s, when you’re stuck on a bus in New York in 2011, or anywhere else for that matter…

Testing it out by St Pauls Cathedral amidst lots of London rain...

Your phone also now allows you to add your own piece of history to the Historypin map. Use it to digitise an old photograph and pin it to the date and time it was taken, making it much easier to get your old photos on the site.

Or, if you witness something of historic importance, be it a presidential address or sporting victory, capture it with your phone camera and upload it directly to Historypin.

The app also lets people take modern replicas of old photos they discover through the app, providing a useful comparison for other users.

Plus, if you shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture, your phone will bring up some of the best photos from all over the globe.

We took it for a test drive near our offices, and really enjoyed the old photos and stories that sprung up when we were around St Paul’s cathedral.

About mike

Mike is Historypin's Digital Director.
He manages our team of developers and oversees the interface design, system development and site architecture. He also looks after We Are What We Do's other digital projects. American by birth, Mike has lived and worked in Bulgaria before settling in London.

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